Laterally movable car door



April 1, 1952 F. DITCHFIELD LATERALLY MOVABLE CAR DOOR Original FiledAug. 11, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 w 5 mm m NT Mm K :W

April 1, 1952 F. DITCHFIELD LATERALLY MOVABLE CAR DOOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Original- Filed Aug. 11, 1945 0 m ,H m A? n M n 0 an 7 5 3 H .F I t 9 av w M m W M //V VENTOE PEA NK -D/ TC HF/E Z. D

April 1952 F. DITCHFIELD LATERALLY MOVABLE CAR DOOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 3Original Filed Aug. 11, 1945 //VVENTOE- FEANK D/TCHF/ELD April 1, 1952DITCHFIELD 2,591,412

LATERAL-LY MOVABLE CAR DOOR Original Filed Aug. 11, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet4 II I 97 C37: f '94 u,

m0 i 98 ll H i FRA NK D/TCHF'IELD Patented Apr. 1, 1952 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE LATERALLY MOVABLE CAR DOOR Frank Ditchfield, Cleveland,Ohio, assignor to The Youngstown Steel Door Company, Clevea land, Ohio,a corporation of Ohio 4 Claims.

This invention relates to laterally movable car doors.

It is an object of this invention to provide laterally movable car doorswhich shall be readily operable from both the ground and platforms.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shallpermit the application of a greater force to move the doors into and outof their door openings.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shallbe supported upon bodily movable anti-friction means during movementtoward and away from the cars and along door supporting tracks.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors embodyingleverage means which shall automatically increase the effective forcefor moving the doors into their door openings as the doors approachtheir fully closed position.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors wherein theprojection of the doors outwardly of the carside is reduced when thedoors are in open position.-

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shallobtain a reduction in the length of door track.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shallbe supported upon bodily movable anti-friction means during movementtoward and away from the cars and along door supporting tracks whereinthe anti-friction means shall be automatically positioned for properrolling movement along the track.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shallbe supported for movement upon freely rolling balls automaticallydisposed in proper position as the door is moved to closed position.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors operabletoward and away from the car by mechanism embodying a horizontallydisposedbar rotatably mounted on the doors and a transversely swingablehandle swingable relative to the bar and adapted to be operativelyconnected thereto.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors operabletoward and away from the car by mechanism embodying a horizontallydisposed bar rotatably mounted on the doors and a transversely swingablehandle wherein the mechanism is adapted to be locked by means associatedwith a handle in such manner that the locking means does not projectoutwardly beyond the handle. A further object is to provide laterallymovable car doors which shall require fewer parts, be sturdier inconstruction and more economical to manufacture.

Other objects of the invention will become clear as the descriptionthereof proceeds.

In the drawings forming part of this specification:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a refrigerator carside equippedwith a laterally movable door embodying the instant invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of the door and adjacentcarside illustrating a portion of the mechanism for moving the door intoand out of the door opening.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of the operating handleand the shaft on which it is mounted, the handle being shown disengagedfrom the shaft in dot and dash lines.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation showing means for lockingthe lever.

Fig. 11 is an end view looking from the left in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section taken on line l2-l2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 13 is a vertical section taken on line l3l 3 of Fig. 1.

For purposes of illustration the instant invention is shown applied to alaterally movable sliding door of a refrigerator car, it beingunderstood, however, that the invention is not limited to these doorsbut is applicable as well to laterally movable sliding doors of boxcars. The refrigerator car, which is designated in its entirety by thereference numeral I0, is of well known construction so that detaileddescription thereof is not necessary except insofar as it relates to thedoor and the operating and supporting mechanism therefor.

A door opening II is formed in each side of the car and is defined bymeans of front and rear door posts I2 and I3, a door header I44 and asill 15. Within the door opening ll a door I6 is adapted to .be receivedand when in its fully closed position lies flush with the outer face ofthe carside wall as more clearly appears from Figs. 2, 3 and 5 of thedrawings. It will be apparent that while the car and the door utilizewooden members in their construction, any other material, such as steel,may be employed if desired.

In order to assume the flush position within the door opening asillustrated in the drawings, and to assume the dot and dash lineposition termined spaced relationship by means of a ball spacer iii. Inits lateral movement'into and out of the door opening H, the balls rideupon a plate 29 mounted upon the sill l5 and upon a track 21 secured tothe outer face of the sill l5. The track 2!, moreover, supports the doorfor longitudinal movement upon the outside of the side wall when thedoor is opened and closed; Durin both the lateral and longitudinalmovements of the door it will be apparent that the balls move bodilyand-in contact with the lower edge of the door which accordingly isreinforced by means of a substantially Z- shaped member 22 having a web23 along which the balls move, an outer attaching upstandin flange Ziand a relatively short inner depending flange 25. The latter flange, asmore clearly appears from Fig. 3 of the drawings, cooperates with aretaining plate 26 fastened as by means of welding to flange 24 toretain the balls and the'spacer against lateral disengagement from thedoor. The depending flange 25 of the Z-shaped member 22 similarlycooperates with an upstanding flange 2'! formed on the track for thesame purpose when the door has been moved outwardly of the door opening.

The mechanism for accomplishing lateral movement of the door accordingto the instant invention embodies a horizontally disposed rectangularshaft or bar 28 mounted for rotation about its axis upon the door. Forthis purpose a plurality of brackets 29, 30 and 3| are fastened upon thedoor It and carry cylindrical bearings 32, 33, 3A and 35 within whichthe shaft is rotatable by means of bushings as indicated at 36, 37, 38and 39 mounted upon the shaft and rotatable within the bearings.

Mounted on the ends of the shaft so as to rotate therewith and to liebeyond the vertical edges of the door are angular levers 40 and M whichare similar in construction so that the description of the lever 42 willsufiice for the description of the lever 4| Each of these levers, asmore clearly appears in Fig. 6 of the drawings, embodies a relativelylong arm 42 and a relatively short arm 43. The shaft 28 extends througha rectangular opening formed in the lever 40 in the angle formed by thearms 42 and 43 and the levers are retained upon the ends of the shaft bymeans of a plate member 44 riveted to the longer arm 42 as indicated at45 and extending into a cope 46 formed in the shaft. A roller 41 isrotatably mounted upon the end of each of the arms 42 and a roller 48 ismounted upon the end of each of the arms 43.

In order to impart rotation to the shaft 28 a handle 49 is provided. Atits upper end the handle is formed with a projecting flange 50 which ispivotally mounted in offset relationship to the axis of the handlebetween the jaws of a clevis .51 mounted upon the bushing 31 so as to berotatable relative to the shaft. In orderto connect the handle 49 to theshaft 28 in operative relationship therewith a clevis 52 is mounted uponthe shaft 28 so as to be rotatable therewith. When in operativeengagement with the shaft the upper end of handle 49 is disposed betweenthe jaws 53 and 54 of clevis 52 so that movement of the handletransversely of the door will impart rotation to the shaft. Upondisengagement of;'

the handle from the clevis 52 it will swing about its pivotal connectionwith clevis 5] and be incapable of imparting rotation to the shaft.

Rotation of the shaft by means of handle 49 imparts rotation to theangular levers 4B and 4| which by their association with brackets 55 and56 impart lateral movement to the door into or out of the door openingH. These brackets, which are substantially similar in construction sothat the description of one of them will be adequate for the other, aredisposed within the door posts l2 and it so as to lie flush with theouter face of the posts and the carside.

Each of these brackets embodies a vertical inner wall S'l which, as moreclearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, is inclined outwardly fromtopto bottom. Attaching ears 58' and 59' extend above and below the wall 5?and provide means: for securing the brackets to the door postas by meansof bolts 60 and ti. Side walls 62 and 63' extend outwardly from theinner wall 51 andthe side wall 63 is formed with a front wall 64extending toward and terminating short of the side wall 62 as moreclearly appears in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The latter wall is providedwith attachin cars 65 and 66 through which bolts 67 and 68 are adaptedto extend in order to fasten the brackets to the door posts. Thesidewall 52 is also provided with spaced parallel inclined walls 69 andis which, as more clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, are connectedat their inner ends and provide an outwardly opening pocket in which aroller 58 is adapted to be received for a purpose hereinafter explained.As clearly appears from Fig. 6 of the drawings; the outer wall Gilterminates intermediate the ends of the inner wall 57 so as to provideopenings 'H and I2 for a purpose which islater explained.

The door is shown in its fully closed position inafter described, isreleased and the handle,-

being disposed between the jaws of the clevis 52 and therefore inoperative engagement with shaft 28, is swung upwardly in order to impartrotation to the shaft and through it to the angular levers ii} and iii.7

During the initial rotation of the angular levers 'the rollers 28 on theshorter arms 23 bear against,v

the lower inclined wall so and impart a thrust to the door, moving thelatter outwardly from the door opening to the extent permitted by thesearms. It will be apparent that by reason of the shortness of these armsa relatively large leverage is obtained for this portion of the lateralmovement of the door so as to insure that the door will be disengagedfrom the packing or sealing means, which may be of any desiredconstruction, secured around the door opening.

7 During the period in which the shorter arms 53 are effective thelonger arms 42 are ineffective and merely rotate with the shaft so as tomove the rollers l through the space H into engagement with the innervertical wall 57. At this time the shorter arms have accomplished theirpurpose and continuing rotation of the shaft 28 by means of theoperating handle 49 causes the longer arms 42 to become effective andthe rollers 41 to bear against and roll down the inner walls 51 in orderto continue the outward lateral movement of the door.

During the effective period of the arms 42, the shorter arms 43 and therollers 48 move outwardly from between the walls 69 and 18 and outwardlyof the car wall. Finally, the rollers 41 are moved out of engagementwith the brackets 55 and 56 through the space 12 and are disposedoutwardly of the inner face of the door so as to avoid contact betweenthem and the outer face of the oarside as the door is movedlongitudinally along the track.

When the door has been moved laterally to its fully outward position theoperating handle 49 is disengaged from the jaws of the clevis 52 andpermitted to swing upon its pivotal connection with theclevis so as toassume the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. '7 of thedrawings. This occurs because the clevis 5| will swing relative to theshaft 28 without imparting rotation thereto. In this manner thepossibility of rotation of the shaft by means of the operating handle iseliminated, and damage to the handle if it remained in outwardlyprojecting position as a result of its engagement with the clevis 52 isavoided.

During its outward lateral movement the door as hereinafter explained issupported upon the balls I1 and [8. The upper edge of the door is guidedoutwardly during this movement by means of a plurality of angle guides13-13, the

horizontal leg 14 of which is fastened to the upper edge of the door asby means of screws "I5. The upstanding leg 16 of each of the angleguides during this movement moves within slots 11 formed in the headerI4. In this manner the upper edge of the door is properly guided both inits inward and outward movements in the door opening.

The outward movement is limited by-engagement of the vertical flange 18with the depending flange 19 of a substantially Z-shaped retaining bar88 fastened to the outer face of the header l4. These flanges cooperate,moreover, in guiding the upper edge of the door during its longitudinalmovement upon the track 2 I.

By reason of the fact that the door is supported upon the freely rollingballs H and [8 the inventionbpermits the use of a supporting track whichis substantially only one-halfthe length of track which would otherwisebe required. As more clearly appears in Fig. 1 of the drawings, thetrack is not extended to the front door post 12 as is normally requiredbut terminates substantially midway of the vertical edges of the doorwhen the latter is closed. If desired, a small bracket 8| may beutilized at the lower front corner of the door in order to preventpossible teetering thereof when in closed position.

Similarly, the rear edge of the track does not extend substantially tothe back stops 82 and 83 but terminates approximately midway between thevertical edges of the door when the latter is fully opened. If desired,a bracket 84 may be utilized at the lower rear corner of the door whenopen to prevent possible teetering thereof.

Moreover, the formation of the track is such that in cooperation withthe door displacement of the balls I! and I8 and the ball spacer l9 whenthe door is open or closed is avoided. For this purpose the ends of thetrack are flanged upwardly as indicated at 85 and 86 and the lowercorners of the door are provided with depending flanges 81 and 88. Asclearly appears from Fig. 1

of the drawings, when the door is fully closed the said end of the ballspacer lies adjacent to the up standin flange of the track whichprevents movement of the spacer and the balls toward the left. At thistime the depending flange 88 at the lower rear corner of the door liesadjacent to the ball spacer l9 and prevents movement thereof and theballs toward the right. Thus the balls and the spacer are fullyconfinedand the balls will be immediately effective for rolling engagement withthe door and the track when the door is opened.

Similarly, when the door is in full open position the rear end of theball spacer I9 will lie adjacent to the upstanding track flange 86 andthe forward end of the ball spacer will. lie adjacent to the dependingdoor flange 81 so that the spacer and the .balls are again confinedagainst movement relative to the door and track.

Means is also provided by the invention for insuring that the balls I1and I8 will be properly alined in parallel relationhip to the outer faceof the door when the door is in its fully closed position. For thispurpose the side sill plate 20 is provided with a pair of upstandinglugs, one of which is indicated at 89. These lugs are so located uponthe sill plate 20 that each of them lies adjacent to one of the balls I1and I8 when the door is fully closed.

Thus when the door has been moved longitudinally upon the track 2| to aposition overlying the door opening it is then forced laterallyinto thedoor opening by the mechanism above described. During this lateralmovement of the door the balls and the spacer move laterally from thetrack 2| onto the sill plate 28. In the event that the ball spacer hasbecome inclined relative to the outer face of the door during thismovement so that the balls are not properly alined, one end of the ballspacer will contact one of the lugs, such as 89. so that the lateralmovement of this end and of the ball adjacent thereto will be arrestedby the lug. Lateral movement of the other end of the spacer and of theother ball, however, willcontinue until the other end of the spacer isarrested by the other lug. At this time the balls are properly alined.

To impart inward lateral movement to the door the operating handle 49 isswung together with the clevis 5| about the shaft 28 so that the handlemay be disposed between the jaws of the clevis 52, thereby establishingoperative en'- gagement between the handle and the shaft 28. The handle49 is then pulled downwardly and rotation is imparted to the shaft 28and to the angular levers 48 and 4|. This rotation of the angular leverscauses the rollers 41 on the longer arms 42 to enter the brackets 55 and56 through the space 72 between the lower end of walls 84 and the innerwall 51. Continued rotation of the shaft and the angular levers effectscontact between the rollers 41 and'the inner face of the walls 64,thereby forcingthe door laterally into the door opening. During thismovement a relatively small force "is required inasmuch as the weight ofthe doors is supported upon the balls and the door has not as yet comeinto contact with the sealing means around the door opening.

Just prior to the time when contact between the door and the sealingmeans is established the rollers 48 engage the upper inclined wall 68and the rollers 41 are disengaged from the walls 64. The force appliedto the operating handle 48 is thereby transferred from the longer arms42 to beyond the outer: face, of the: door. ingmeans which is shown ingreater detail inv amnesia the: shorter arms; 43.: so thatza far greaterefiec' tive; leverage for? the-.5 final; inward lateral: movement: 0tvthe: door is obtained: and. the resistance offered. to such movement: bythe compressionof the backing material is. easily overcome.

During the final lateral. movement of the door the: rollers 41 passoutwardly through the space 1.1 sov asto-lie outwardly of the brackets55and 56. i x Thedoor is now in its fullyclosed position andlocked'therein by means so devised which does. not increase theprojection of the mechanism This lock- The locking member flfi isadapted to be received within a bifurcation 98 formed in lug 9| and. to.be sea-led to-the bracket. For the latter purpose a-lined slots 99 andH10 are formed inthe locking member and in a horizontally disposed lug-Illl carried by the bracket, lug, 91. parent from theforegoing thatthelocking means for the operating handle. does not project outwar.dly.-beyond the outer face of the handle;

It willbeobservedfrom Fig; 3 of the drawingsthat whenthe-door isclosed,thecenter of gravityoi the door lies inwardly of the supporting; balls.

ll-and l8-. so the door is biased inwardly. Similar- 1y, when: thev doorhas been moved out of the door. opening, as shown in. dot and dash linesin 3,, its center'of gravity lies outwardly of-the balls so that thedoor is; constantly biased: away from the side-wall of, the car duringits longitudinalmovements along the track.

This application isa division of application Serial No. 610,315;filedby' applicant on August; 11; 1945, for Laterally Movable Car Doors;andnow matured into Patent No. 2,560,419.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in thedetails ofthe invention will be clear to those skilled in theart:Itisrintended, therefore, that all such modifications. and changes hecomprehended. withinv this: in.-= vention, which is to be limited only:by thescope. of the. claims appended hereto.

I'claim:

I-t is ap- 1. In a railway house car: embodying a: wall provided. with adoor opening and. having; a. header and a sill, a track carried bysaidsill, a. door, balls. supporting; said. door for transverse:movement upon said. track and said sillinto; and out of I said dooropening and; for longitudinal movement uponsaid track,saidxballsrolling:along of. said door opening insubstantially parallelrelationship to said wall, and means. secured. to

said, can. Said-1. latter. means. engagin sa d. guide:

means to: limit outwardmovement of said door;

2. In a railway house car embodying awall: provided with a door openingandhaving a, sill, atrack; carried by said sill, a door, doorsupporting; balls, rolling along saidtrackand sill and, along; saiddoor: for supporting. said. door for? transverse. movement into. and outof said door opening and alongsaid track and door forsupporting-J saiddoor: for longitudinal movement;

means spacing, said balls, a member securedto.

said door in outwardly overlappingv relationship.- with said, ball.-spacer, and means secured to-said sill inwardly of said member adaptedto engage saidi ball; spacer and properly dispose; saidballs when saiddoor, is, beingrmoyed transversely into said door opening. a

3, Ina railway house car embodyinga= wall.

provided. witha door; opening and having. a;

header and: a' sill, a. track carried by said sill,

a door-, balls rolling. along, said track and sill and along; said doorfor supporting, said door for transverse movement into and out of saiddoor opening and along said track: and door for supr porting; saiddoorfor longitudinal. movement,

means spacingsaid; balls, a member secured tov said door in outwardlyoverlapping relationship with said ball spacer, transverse guide slots;

formed in. said header, guide flanges, secured; to

saiddoor'a-nd" slidableinto and out of said slots, v

an upstandingflange on said track, a men' bersecured to said headerhaving. a depending flangealined with said track flange, and, adepending;

flange on: said door, said fiangeon saidsecond mentioned member engagingsaid, guide flanges; and said track, flange and; door flange respectively engaging outer and inner portions of said ball spacer. to limitoutward movement of said door.

4. Ina railway house car having a,.wall prosaid movement to. said doorupon saidballs, said balls moving substantially to the outer plane 01-said, door: as said, door moves transversely into said door opening andsubstantially-to the'innerplane ofsaid dooras said door, movestransversely" out of said dooropening; whereby the. center of gravity ofsaid door lies inwardly of said balls" when said, dooris. in said dooropening and out.-: wardlv" of: said balls when said door is. out ofsaid:

' door opening, and means on said carengaging;

and properly positioning said balls during transverse movement of saiddoor into the door opening. a

FRANK DI'ICHFIELD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis" patent: i

UNITED STATES PATENTS.

Number Name 7 Date 479,144- Taylor-1, -g- July 19,1892. 950,717; Cossey-Mar. 1, 1910 1,077,798 Burgoon- Nov. 4, 1913;: 1,219,059 Wieseckel eta1. Mar. 13, 191"! 2,062,757 Moore. etal Dec. 1, 1936. 2,100,784

Lute Nov. 3.0, 1937;

